


Unique Perspectives on Breaking the Rules

by adorkablephil (kimberly_a)



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Artist Phil Lester, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 12:59:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15316008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimberly_a/pseuds/adorkablephil
Summary: Phil's an artist, and Dan likes his style





	Unique Perspectives on Breaking the Rules

**Author's Note:**

> Here’s a bit of something for the @phanfichallenge “Write Every Day for a Week” on Tumblr

Phil was sipping a cup of coffee when he noticed the tall, dark-haired boy walking slowly around the cafe, looking intently at the artwork on the walls.

When the boy passed near him, Phil spoke up. “I’m the artist.” Then he winced, because that sounded so vain and pretentious. “I mean, I ... um ... I...”

The boy looked at him and Phil caught his breath, because Phil could now see that the young man was older than the ripped jeans and baggy jumper had at first made him appear, and he was now flashing the most adorable dimples Phil had ever seen.

“You painted these?” the curly-haired Adonis gushed. That’s really the way Phil thought of the guy in his mind. He was **so** gone, and this guy was sure to be straight. Phil always fell for the straight ones. But then he spotted the tiny hoop earring beneath a curl of brown hair and wondered if he might have a chance.

“Yeah. The owner here is a friend of mine. Well, mostly just because I drink a lot of coffee. So I’m here a lot, you know.” He sounded like an absolute idiot and he knew he was probably blushing bright enough to match his red plaid button-up.

“But these are really great,” the cute guy said, gesturing to the nearest painting, which was an abstract in shades of blue and green. That actually described much of Phil’s work.

“Tell the university that,” Phil joked, then realized this guy had no idea what he was talking about. “I flunked out of art school. Well, flunked out, dropped out—you know—didn’t finish, at any rate. They wanted us all to draw the same thing, but I’m rubbish at that.”

The dimples guy stared intently at the abstract he’d gestured to a moment ago and shook his head in apparent disbelief. “But these are so beautiful! They’re like nothing I’ve ever seen before! Isn’t that what art is supposed to be? A unique way of seeing the world?”

Phil shrugged uncomfortably. “Not according to the university. They’d tell us to draw a swimming pool, and everybody else would draw a rectangle with a diving board. But I’d draw an abstract lagoon with shadows hinting at possible trees or grottos. The teachers didn’t like my stuff, because I didn’t see things the way everybody else did. They kept telling me you have to learn to obey the rules before you’re allowed to break them.”

The guy grinned directly at Phil, and he found himself nearly blinded by the brightness of the brown eyes and the brilliance of the smile. “But you broke the rules from the start, didn’t you?”

Phil glanced shyly down at his cup of coffee and smiled. “I guess so.”

“My name’s Dan,” Curly Hair Dimples said, and he held out his hand. Phil shook it, noticing how large Dan’s hand was compared to his own delicate fingers. “I’m a law school drop-out because I didn’t want to follow the rules.”

Phil looked up into those shining brown eyes, his hand still clasped in Dan’s, and smiled with less shyness now. “I’m Phil. Can I buy you a cup of coffee, Dan the Law School Drop-Out?”

Dan winked at him as their hands slowly slid apart, letting his fingers caress Phil’s palm as they separated, and then he sat across from Phil at the small table and leaned his chin on his hand. “I thought you’d never ask.”


End file.
